How to get rid of burn smell in basement

[ilyaz]

We have a finished basement where we used to have a microwave. Recently we had an incident (call it a botched scientific experiment) when something left in the microwave for a long period of time caught fire. Fortunately for us, this did not turn into a basement fire. However, now we have a strong burn smell in the basement that we can't get rid of. One problem is that there is very little air circulation there as basement windows are very small and there is no central heating/air in the basement.

Any recommendation on how we can get rid of the smell? Should we get one of those large fans that are used to dry basements after flooding, open all the windows and run the fan for a long time? Or do we need to treat the whole basement with some type of chemical?

Thanks!

 

[MarshaMarshaMarsha]

I'm sure that using a large industrial fan like that or even just a few regular fans would help solve your problem of "very little air circulation" and help push the air around...now just make sure it has somewhere to go...open all the windows and even leave the door at the top of the steps open so it can escape the basement and then just open all the windows in the house and the smells can escape more easily through the larger spaces. Also, candles and such never hurt,; but they usually just "mask" the smell and not get rid of it. Hope this helps

 

[TxBuilder]

What type of wall and floors are in the basement?

 

[Blue Jay]

If you could set up a box fan with a filter on the intake side that has charcoal in it, this worked well for my daughter when she had an over fire.

 

[Nestor_Kelebay]

Ilyaz:

Soft materials like carpets, drapes and upholstery are notorious for hanging on to smells.

When I used to rent to smokers I found that 90 percent of the smell of cigarette smoke could be removed by shampooing the carpet and laundering the drapes.

I'd rent a carpet shampoo'er and clean your carpet and upholstery. And, launder your drapes down there. Then, if the smell persists, start cleaning the walls and ceilings.

 

[MarshaMarshaMarsha]

Did you ever get the smell to go away?